we set out on a 2-hour tour
not unlike
*’gilligan’s island’
all kinds of us
togethe
with high hopes
for a grand day
on the detroit river
a natural boundary
between
the united states
and
canada
and were
met with
gale force winds
and
torrential downpours
and slippery decks
but we made the best of the rough seas
most people are rowing against the current of life.
instead of turning the boat around,
all they need to do is let go of the oars.
– esther hicks
and this guy
jack
our mascot for the day
survived
a bit the worse for wear
paper mache mashed
one eye blown off
quickly balding
open wounds
but
like jack
we all hung in there
(nowhere to get off really)
and it was a grand adventure
we may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.
– martin luther king, jr.
canada is like a loft apartment over a really great party.
– robin williams
happy canada day to our very friendly neighbors!
—
*gilligan’s island backstory:
IT WAS INTENDED TO BE A “METAPHORICAL SHAMING OF WORLD POLITICS.”
One day in a public speaking class at New York University, the professor had students compose an impromptu one-minute speech on this topic: If you were stranded on a desert island, what one item would you like to have? Sherwood Schwartz (the show’s creator), was a student in that class, and the question so intrigued him that it remained lodged in the back of his mind for many years.
After working for some time as a comedy writer for other shows, Schwartz decided to pitch his own idea for a sitcom. Thinking back to that desert island question, he thought it would make for an interesting dynamic to have a group of very dissimilar individuals stranded together and have to learn to live and work together. The island would be “a social microcosm and a metaphorical shaming of world politics in the sense that when necessary for survival, yes we can all get along,” Schwartz explained in Inside Gilligan’s Island: From Creation to Syndication. Schwartz quickly discovered after his first few pitch meetings that words like “microcosm” and “metaphor” were not very helpful when trying to sell a comedy.
—
credits: cbs television, mental floss, sherwood schwartz, diamond jack boats
